Scott Wilkinson

In a report from the Nikkei and Kyodo news agency in Japan on Saturday, Pioneer is said to be quitting the plasma-TV business altogether—not just getting out of panel manufacturing and handing it over to Panasonic, but abandoning its TV business entirely. The global economic downturn, plummeting demand, and fierce competition led the company to take the drastic action in order to stem growing losses, which are expected to reach almost $850 million in the home-electronics division this fiscal year.

According to an aide to Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the US Senate yesterday unanimously passed a revised version of a bill that would delay the transition to digital television from February 17 to June 12. The revisions had to do with budget rules and first-responder communications, changes that were added by the House of Representatives before the bill was defeated there on Tuesday.

When Pioneer first introduced its Kuro plasma TVs a couple of years ago, everyone was amazed at their deep blacks, stunning detail, and gorgeous colors. Those first Kuro models represented Pioneer's eighth generation of plasma TVs, including the 50-inch <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/flatpaneldisplays/308pio110fd/">PRO-110FD</A> from Pioneer's upscale Elite line. The current offerings are referred to as 9G and include the 50-inch <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/flatpaneldisplays/808pio111/">Elite PRO-111FD</A>, which exhibits even deeper blacks than the previous generation.

To borrow a line from <I>UAV</I> reviewer David Vaughn, CES 2009 is now receding in the rear-view mirror. It was a grueling week during which we all put many miles on our shoes&#151;and cars, since Gary Altunian, Kim Wilson, and I all drove to the show and around Las Vegas, avoiding what we thought would be long cab lines. (We would have all driven together to be more eco-friendly, except that each of us was heading in a different direction after the show.)